Where Are You Birding This Third Weekend of February 2012?

Now that the Great Backyard Bird Count has ended, reports are rolling in from the Rio Grande Valley to Nunavut (thanks, Clare!) I’m wondering about how participation in an extreme or prolonged bird watching event affects interest in further birding. This question isn’t just apropos to North American birders but really to anyone who engages in Big Days, Big Years, Big Sits, and holiday-themed bird counts: do these events slake your thirst or further excite your appetite for birding?

Having locked in a lifer, albeit a drab one, last weekend leaves me satisfied to just admire the birds in my backyard this weekend. The cardinals have been whooping it up as new species stop by the feeder. Corey will be birding in the New York Capital Region while visiting his folks. How about you? What will you be doing this weekend and will you be birding? Share your plans in the comments below.

Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.

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Sonja Ross

February 23, 2012 4:13:38 pm

I’m not doing anything special this weekend but went on a pelagic last weekend from Port Fairy, Victoria, Australia, and we had 7 Buller’s Albatross off the boat at one stage, and a real rarity for Australia, a Great Shearwater for a short time. Both of those were lifers. The Buller’s are a striking bird, and it was great to see them.

I am returning to the RI coastline. Last weekend I watched common eiders, mergansers, buffleheads, scoters, and red throated loons in the icy blue Atlantic. Also got lucky to watch a lone razorbill feeding as the cod boats were returning to their port. I’m packing my gear now and looking forward to great bird photography opportunities.

I’m hoping to get to Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area (south-central Pennsylvania) tomorrow. There are many thousands of Snow Geese and Tundra Swans there along with other waterfowl and a Sandhill Crane. My attempts to go birding today were defeated by high winds.